2021 Brings New Hunting Seasons In Del.

2021 brings the arrival of more hunting seasons to Delaware. Firearm deer hunting seasons will start on various dates depending on the firearm used. Several other hunting and trapping seasons also will continue in 2021. Hunters should be aware of all license, training and limitation requirements. For more, CLICK HERE DNREC released this hunting season…

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DE State Park Offices to Close Temporarily

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will close all park offices within Delaware State Parks starting Thursday, Dec. 24 through Jan. 11, 2021, to limit the spread of COVID-19. The closures coincide with Gov. John Carney’s latest stay-at-home advisory, which strongly urges Delawareans to avoid gathering indoors with anyone from outside their…

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Recovery Of Sunken Tugboat Underway

A tugboat sank this week about two nautical miles north of Cape Henlopen State Park, but hopes are that the Miss Aida can be recovered. The vessel was being towed by the tugboat Dory Monday afternoon when the Dory’s crew reported a wave struck and broke the windshield of the Miss Aida, causing it to…

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DNREC Extends Electric Vehicle Rebate Program

Delaware has extended its rebate program for electric vehicles and charging station purchases for six months, through the end of June 2021. According to the Department of Natural Resources, the rebate program is part of the state’s commitment to improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. ā€œTransportation is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas…

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Dec. Brings Several Hunting Seasons To Del.

Several hunting and trapping seasons will start in Delaware during December. The special antler-less deer hunting season will begin Saturday December 12th. Deer hunting will be permitted on the following two Sundays this year. Duck hunting season begins December 11th. DNREC provided this schedule of hunting seasons Monday: Hunting: ā—     Beaver: Dec. 1 to March 20,…

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DNREC Begins Auction Of Low-Digit Surf Fishing Tags

Image courtesy of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources has an incentive for Black Friday shoppers who are interested in a low-digit surf fishing tag. A total of twelve two-digit and three-digit tags as well as other choice numbers will be available. The minimum bid for a prized surf-fishing tag is $250. The Delaware General Assembly passed legislation…

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Del. State Parks Will Be Free This Fri.

Photo courtesy of DNREC

Delaware State Parks will be open to the public at no charge this Friday. The Department of Natural Resources will waive the entry fee as part of the annual Black Friday #OptOutside movement. It encourages Americans to spend time outdoors on the day after Thanksgiving and to share their experiences on social media using the…

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Update: Oil Spill Cleanup Reaches Final Stages

Crewmembers from Lewis Environmental, a remediation contractor, conducts cleanup operations of oil patties that washed ashore at various locations on the Delaware Bay coastline between Fowler Beach and Cape Henlopen, Delaware, Oct. 21, 2020. A unified command consisting of the United States Coast Guard and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has been established as cleanup efforts continue. (Courtesy photo/Released)

Clean-up crews are nearing the end of an oil-spill response that has now lasted more than three weeks. According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, the beaches at Gordon’s Pond at Cape Henlopen, North Shores, Rehoboth and Dewey were the last to require a final sign-off. The unified command between DNREC and the Coast…

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Tar Balls, Oily Bits Continue Showing Up At Beaches

Members of a contracted oil spill response organization cleans oily debris from Rehoboth Beach in Delaware as part of the Broadkill 2020 oil spill response, Oct. 26, 2020. The Coast Guard and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are working together to identify areas where tar balls and oily debris are making landfall to facilitate an effective clean up.(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross.)

Remnants of an oil spill that was first detected at Broadkill Beach last month have made their way further south. DNREC and the Coast Guard say cleanup crews have cleared tar balls and oily debris from ocean beaches between Cape Henlopen and Fenwick Island in Delaware as well as Ocean City and Assateague Island State…

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Oil Spill Cleanup Nears Its End; Investigation Continues

Members of a contracted oil spill response organization cleans oily debris from Rehoboth Beach in Delaware as part of the Broadkill 2020 oil spill response, Oct. 26, 2020. The Coast Guard and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are working together to identify areas where tar balls and oily debris are making landfall to facilitate an effective clean up.(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross.)

An assessment by the Unified Command that has been dealing with an oil spill for two weeks indicates that the clean-up may be largely complete. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard utilized stringent federal and state guidelines to determine whether clean-up crews have been successful or if more work is…

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Reward Offered In Oil Spill Investigation

A member of a contracted oil spill response organization cleans oily debris from Slaughter Beach in Delaware as part of the Broadkill 2020 oil spill response. The Coast Guard and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are working together to identify areas where tar balls and oily debris are making landfall to facilitate an effective clean up.(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross.)

A reward could be available for information that leads to the identity of the person or organization responsible for the oil spill that’s blotted beaches along Delaware Bay and ocean beaches as far south as Ocean City. The Delaware Audubon Society has put up the offer of a $2,000 reward. Tar balls and oil patties…

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Week Into Oil Spill, Some Beaches Still Closed

The beaches at Lewes and Dewey Beach remained closed to the public Friday due to an oil spill that has left tar balls and droplets of oil on the sand. Bethany Beach has reopened its beaches, but visitors are asked to use caution and to avoid touching any oil blobs they may encounter.Efforts to clean…

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Look Out: Watch For Deer This Time Of Year

It’s that time of year… More and more deer are crossing our roadways, it’s getting dark earlier, and motorists need to be extra alert. The Office of Highway Safety, Triple-A Mid-Atlantic and DNREC say the deer mating season lasts from October until December, and will start to peak around November 10th. “Bucks are very single-minded…

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Update: Oil Spill Cleanup Enters 2nd Week

A member of a contracted oil spill response organization cleans oily debris from Slaughter Beach in Delaware as part of the Broadkill 2020 oil spill response, Oct. 25, 2020. The Coast Guard and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are working together to identify areas where tar balls and oily debris are making landfall to facilitate an effective clean up.(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross.)

The cleanup of oil patties from Delaware beaches enters its second week. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources says about 55 tons, or four construction dumpsters’ worth of oil blobs, polluted sand and other debris had been removed as of Sunday afternoon. DNREC and the US Coast Guard are managing the unified command. ā€œThe job…

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Lewes Beach Closed Due To Oil Spill Clean-Up

Petty Officer 3rd Class Danielle Nelson, a marine science technician at Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Lewes in Lewes, Del., tracks cleanup efforts of oil patties that washed ashore on Broadkill Beach, Delaware, Oct. 20, 2020. The Coast Guard, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are responding to, and overseeing the cleanup. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Fegley/Released)

The City of Lewes is closing its beaches 1 and 2 to the public due to this week’s oil spill. Signs are being posted at beach cross-overs and on the dune fence to inform visitors of the closures Thursday and Friday. The beaches will remain closed until DNREC and the Coast Guard advise Lewes officials…

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Oil Spill May Have Affected 24 Seagulls

Crewmembers from Lewis Environmental, a remediation contractor, conducts cleanup operations of oil patties that washed ashore at various locations on the Delaware Bay coastline between Fowler Beach and Cape Henlopen, Delaware, Oct. 21, 2020. A unified command consisting of the United States Coast Guard and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has been established as cleanup efforts continue. (Courtesy photo/Released)

A unified command has been established as efforts continue to clean up oil patties from a spill on Delaware Bay. The Department of Natural Resources says gobs of oil have been found on various locations between Fowler Beach and Cape Henlopen. In addition to cleaning up and removing the oil patties, assessment of the spill’s…

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Del. Bay Oil Spill Continues To Spread

Petty Officer 3rd Class Danielle Nelson, a marine science technician at Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Lewes in Lewes, Del., tracks cleanup efforts of oil patties that washed ashore on Broadkill Beach, Delaware, Oct. 20, 2020. The Coast Guard, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are responding to, and overseeing the cleanup. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Fegley/Released)

An oil spill first detected at Broadkill Beach has spread to several other coastal locations – Lewes, Roosevelt Inlet and Beach Plum Island near Cape Henlopen. Tides carried some of the oil out into the Delaware bay, and “oil patties” have also turned up, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources. DNREC is working…

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DNREC Investigates Oil Spill At Broadkill Beach

About five barrels of oil, or close to 215 gallons, have washed ashore at Broadkill Beach. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources says its Emergency Response Team responded to examine the impact of the spill and to develop a clean-up plan. The spill covered about 3/4 of a mile along upper Delaware Bay. A Delaware…

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2020 A Good Year For Piping Plover Population

Piping plover chick, 18 days old. Photo by Evangelin Von Boeckman.

It was a productive summer at the Delaware beaches for nesting shorebirds. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources Thursday reported that 21 nesting pairs of piping plovers were monitored, and they produced about 51 fledglings. The small beach nesting birds are on Delaware’s state endangered list. The rate of fledglings, at 2.4 per pair of…

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Squirrel! Delmarva Fox Squirrel Populations To Be ‘Translocated’

A Delmarva Fox Squirrel (image courtesy of DNREC)

Delmarva fox squirrels are going to find a new home in Delaware. The Department of Natural Resources says some of the once-endangered squirrels, found abundantly on the Maryland Eastern Shore but still relatively rare in southern Delaware, will be ‘trans-located’ from their Maryland population center to suitable habitats in The First State. Squirrels captured in…

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West Nile Found In Del. Sentinel Chickens, 1st Time In 2020

West Nile Virus has been detected in Delaware for the first time this year in Department of Natural Resources’ sentinel chickens. The birds, placed in northern New Castle County, are sampled regularly. No human cases of West Nile have been reported in Delaware so far this year. DNREC says the possibility of contracting mosquito-borne diseases…

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